The Second Shot that Saved Them
by Pha1ange5
Summary: Booth goes up against the sniper serial killer in a tense standoff.  The second shot is the one that brings his world crashing down. Spoilers for Season 6. One-shot.


A/N: This story contains slight SPOILERS for Season 6. Read at your own discretion. It's somewhat angsty...it took a hold of my brain and would let me go until I had put it to pen and paper.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Bones, but it currently has taken hostage of my brain and my muse. :)

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**The Second Shot that Saved Them**

This was it.

Everything was in place.

They had been on the trail of the serial killer sniper for months now with few leads and three unfortunate victims, including the sickening demise of their colleague and friend Daisy Wick. They had had nothing to go on, only grief and a resolute determination to find the killer and bring him to justice.

Then finally, a break in the case – a friend of the murderer had discovered his terrible plans and had told the FBI everything…who the next victim was, when the next hit was going to be, and where.

They formulated their plan.

It wasn't easy to track down a sniper. The kill usually came from a far distance, making catching them in the act all the more difficult. These types of hitmen tend to blend in and disappear before anyone can even track down where the shot came from. Fortunately for the FBI, Seeley Booth was a trained sniper himself, with an unparalleled insight into how a distance killer's mind worked. Since he knew what the shooter's plan was, he was able to figure out the killer's preferred sight line for nailing his next victim. The location was in a business park, with four buildings converging on a central square. The proposed victim, an accountant named John Roberts who worked in one of the buildings, had lunch out in the courtyard at the same bench, at the same time, every day. Once Booth knew that, he had evaluated the buildings, looking for where the killer would place himself for the best shot.

Sadly, it wasn't hard for Booth to get into this guy's head.

So now, the stage was set. The plan was to keep the sniper in the dark. Nothing was to tip him off of a change in the environment. The accountant had been notified and was being protected by FBI agents in his building. Booth had placed himself on the roof of the adjacent building, prepared with his own sniper rifle, at the ready to take down the killer just in case something didn't go as planned.

Since they had no way of knowing which floor the killer would shoot from, they were to wait for Booth's confirmation. From his vantage point, he had a clear view of the building in question as well as the open courtyard. As soon as the sniper was spotted setting up his shot, Booth was to direct the tactical team to the floor and room while he kept on point.

The plan was risky. They didn't want to chance tipping the hitman off, so they had decided against sending out an alert. The plan was to take him out before he'd even have a chance to set up his shot. The line was fine – they needed direct evidence that he intended to shoot without actually shooting someone, since all of the remaining evidence they had on him was subjective at best.

Life milled about down in the courtyard, all patrons blissfully unaware that there was a killer among them.

Booth scanned the windows in the adjacent building anxiously, trying to spot the shooter. Minutes passed as no suspicious movement set off his senses.

Suddenly, he noticed a quick movement out of the corner of his eyes in one of the windows on the 8th floor. He watched carefully for any additional movement, and was rewarded with a dark figure moving around, seemingly looking down into the courtyard, then popping back out of sight, reaching for a long object.

Booth readied his rifle, using his scope to get a better view of the suspicious character. The man's following movements made his blood run cold, as he recognized the barrel of a military rifle being pulled out from a non-descript case. Without removing his eyes from his target, Booth quietly radioed to his men on the ground that they were to head to the 8th floor.

He watched nervously as the sniper carefully assembled his rifle in what appeared to be an empty office room. The seconds passed by agonizingly as Booth waited for his team to be in place to apprehend the murderous gunman, all the while watching him through his scope for signs of a clear intent to shoot, his finger just aside the trigger.

Suddenly, there was static on his com link, and then he heard the anxious sound of Brennan's voice fighting with the radio controller.

"No! You have to let me talk to him! Booth! Something is wrong! You have to…"

The link went dead with static before he could hear the rest.

"Bones? Bones! This is Agent Booth to Control. Do you read me? Over!"

He gripped his gun even tighter, trying to steady his hands as his mind raced with what was happening down below. _What was going on?_

He fiddled with the frequencies on his com, trying to re-establish a connection, all the while watching intently through his scope at the sniper in the other building. The man was readying his gun.

All he heard was the shush of static buzzing in his ear. He returned the radio to the original frequency in hopes something would come through.

Booth watched as the man slowly angled the gun to position his aim towards the bench down below. It was 12:25 pm…five minutes before the accountant took his usual seat for lunch.

Sweat beaded on his forehead from the intensity of the situation and the noon-day sun. He risked a glance down to the courtyard. Everything seemed as usual down below.

All of a sudden, a voice broke through over the com link.

"Hello Agent Booth. I'm glad you could make it."

Just as the voice ended, Booth watched through his scope as the sniper turned slightly, aiming the murder weapon right at him.

A chill went through him.

They had been had.

"I guess Roberts isn't coming, but then again he never was. It's a good thing we both know what we're doing. I like a fair fight. You wouldn't have come otherwise."

Booth's mouth ran dry. This was what Bones had been trying to warn him about. Somehow they had been played. It was now sniper against sniper. It was personal.

"All you had to do was ask…McKinnon," Booth gritted through his teeth, acknowledging that he knew who the shooter was and that he could hear him. His finger twitched toward the trigger.

"Poor James…never knew what was coming to him. A bullet between the eyes will do that. I wonder if you'll ever find his body?"

James was the friend who had ratted McKinnon out. He had obviously paid the price for telling.

"We'll find him…and we'll put you away for the rest of your life. I promise you, your death won't be nearly as quick."

"You know, I've been waiting for an opponent worthy of my skills. Your reputation precedes you, _Sergeant_ Booth. How good are you really?"

Suddenly, there was a commotion down below. A cry – someone yelling "Shooter!" – then what sounded like screams and a scattering of people running in all directions. Booth resisted the urge to look down, keeping his keen eyes trained on the man across from him. The sweat from his forehead dripped into his eyes, making them sting, but he kept them wide open, not daring to even blink.

"Well, looky what we have here…looks like your girlfriend is coming to your rescue."

A dagger of fear stabbed into Booth's stomach as he recognized the voice calling out from below.

"Give it up McKinnon! There are at least five sniper rifles pointed at you at this moment, and six armed men just outside your office door. You have nowhere to go."

Since McKinnon had diverted his eyes down, Booth chanced a glance to the courtyard. There standing in the middle was Temperance Brennan, hands up in the air, shouting at the top of her lungs.

Booth couldn't breathe. _What was she doing? _ he screamed in his mind as he fought the urge to shout at her to run.

"We have you. If you value your life at all, surrender now!"

He spared one more glance down. She had turned to face the shooter, face up to the sun. She looked determined and fearless.

Booth squeezed his hands on the barrel of the gun to keep his hands from shaking. He had noticed the shooter ease up momentarily from the distraction below, so he brought his finger back on the trigger, wondering why the SWAT team hadn't yet barrelled down the door. He couldn't shoot until McKinnon showed a clear intent to kill. One twitch would be all it took.

Something must be wrong. Brennan was acting as a distraction in the most deadly kind of way. _WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON?_

Booth's mind raced, screaming, as he struggled to breathe from the fear gripping his lungs like a vice.

McKinnon glanced back up at his target, hands steady on his gun.

"Your partner doesn't realize who holds the power here," his voice crackled through the coms, cold and hard as steel, hardening Booth's resolve.

"Take your aim off Agent Booth!"

_NO_…

McKinnon glanced back at Booth once before swiveling his rifle aim down…

_NO…_

"Gladly…" his figure on the trigger…

"NOOOOO! BONES!"

Two shots rung in succession through the courtyard as a figure dropped to the ground.

Booth dropped his gun, not even bothering to check if he had made his shot as he ran as fast as his legs could carry him down the 10 flights of stairs to the courtyard. His whole body shook as he rounded each set, his eyes blinded by tears of fear. He couldn't breathe…he had to get to her…

He ran, stumbling across the courtyard to the crowd that had gathered in the middle, shoving people aside as he collapsed to his knees.

She lay on the ground, arms splayed out, her blood spattered across her chest and face.

He lunged towards her and gathered her in his arms, pressing on her wound, blood on his hands, as he gasped a sob and screamed her name in agony…

"BONES!"

…as he held her lifeless body in his arms.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"BONES!"

Booth screamed as he sat up, drenched in sweat, his chest heaving in a sob, as he took in his surroundings with a start. He was in his bed, in his bedroom. It had been a dream…

"Seeley! Seeley! Are you okay?"

Hannah slid closer to him and tentatively placed her arm on his shoulder, gently stroking his arm. He had woken up screaming, startling her from sleep. It had been like this for two nights now.

Booth breathed heavily as he tried to regain his bearings, unconsciously hugging his knees to his chest as he tried to regain his composure and his breath.

He glanced at Hannah, noting the concern in her eyes. He nodded distractedly, feeling the bile rise in his throat, as he staggered out of bed.

"I need a minute," he whispered, as he made his way to the bathroom.

He closed the door behind him, then collapsed onto the cold tile floor as he fought for control over his stomach. He sat with his head between his knees, as he covered his eyes with his hands, willing the hovering fainting spell away.

He sat there for several minutes, trying to shake the violent feeling of malaise away, before making a decision.

He needed to see her.

Carefully standing up, he washed his face with cold water before staggering back into the bedroom.

Hannah watched him with hurting eyes, as he walked over to his dresser to pull out a t-shirt and jeans and proceeded to pull them on.

"Where are you going?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"I have to go," he answered cryptically, his voice catching from sadness and exhaustion.

"It's 3 am. Can't it wait until morning?" she whispered desperately, willing him not to go.

He continued getting ready as if he hadn't heard her, pulling on black socks while searching for his wallet.

Just as he was about to walk through the door, she whimpered loudly, "She's not going to answer, Seeley."

He paused and turned, looking at the ground as he whispered, "I'm sorry," for the many wrongs in his life, then walked out the door.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Booth slowly entered her room, taking care to close the door quietly behind him. He paused in the doorway, taking in her sleeping form, not really sure how to proceed. His breath came in short gasps as he tried to control the emotions that were building inside of him.

He slowly made his way over to her bedside, then sat in the chair adjacent and carefully took her hand.

He took in her beautiful face, now partially covered with the ventilator that was helping her breathe.

It hadn't been a dream.

It had been a living nightmare.

Two days ago, they had taken on the serial killer sniper, and although Booth had stopped him from ever being able to kill again, he hadn't been able to stop him from shooting Brennan.

Because of the split-second shot, he hadn't gotten off a clean shot, hitting her in the chest instead of the head, but the damage was done.

She had been in a coma for two days, needing a ventilator to stay alive. The doctors weren't sure if the paramedics had gotten there in time to save her beautiful brain.

He got the whole story after the fact. He can't remember who told him, it was all a haze. The team had gotten word that their informant had been killed just minutes before the sniper was to appear, tipping them off that he knew it was a setup. McKinnon had messed with the radio link and had been ready, having shut down the elevators and blocked the stairwells nearest him, preventing the tactical team from attacking.

Bones had discovered all of this, so to try and give them time to get there, she fought against the FBI guards and ran into the courtyard to distract the killer.

She had done it to save him.

She knew that McKinnon would aim for him, so she went out and put herself in the crosshairs of a sniper rifle to save him.

He hadn't been able to breathe since she stopped being able to breathe.

He had kept a constant vigil at the hospital during normal visiting hours, hoping for any sign of improvement. Nothing had happened yet. At night, he was forced to go home. To be away from her had been unbearable. Hence the dreams.

He swallowed at the permanent lump in his throat, tears gathering in his eyes as he gazed on her beautiful, pale face. He stroked her hand as he leaned over to gently brush her new bangs to the side, then carefully leaned in to softly kiss her forehead, as a few stray tears trickled onto her nose.

For a second he froze as he thought he saw her eyelashes twitch, then nothing.

He carefully brushed away the tears that had fallen on her face, then softly whispered, "Bones, if you can here me, I need you to wake up."

His voice was gravelly with emotion. He sighed and continued.

"I need you to open your eyes Bones. I need to see those beautiful blue eyes look back at me. _Please_ Bones."

His voice cracked as he said her name.

"I can't live without you, Bones. I've tried and I can't do it. I know everything seems like it's all gone wrong, but I promise I will make it right for you. We can do anything if we just try, you and me. You gave your life for me…I will give you mine if you'll just wake up. _Please._"

"I love you Bones…" he whispered, praying with all of his might that if he could just have her respond, he would spend the rest of his life proving to her she had the most open heart he knew.

Suddenly, he felt a twitch from her hand.

He stood up, hovering over her, willing her to move again. He squeezed her hand. Gradually, he felt some pressure back.

"Bones…Bones! Open your eyes for me, baby. Please Bones, just let me see those beautiful eyes…"

He gasped as she carefully open them, blinking to clear her vision, her glossy blue eyes focusing in recognition.

"Thank you God!" Booth whispered as he looked up to the heavens in prayer, tears streaming down his face, before returning his eyes to the woman in front of him. He grasped her hand and stroked her cheek, smiling for the first time in days.

This was the moment the world would change.

She had come back to him.

They had been given a second chance, and he vowed to never let her go ever again.

THE END

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Feedback is very much appreciated! Please let me know what you thought! Thanks for reading!


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